Why is Uber cutting jobs despite strong growth?

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber had grown too large to manage efficiently. The cuts will help the company run “faster and smarter,” and savings will be reinvested in growth and innovation, including autonomous vehicles.

What are the details of the job cuts?

Uber is cutting 3,300 jobs, about a tenth of its workforce. This is the largest cut since Covid, when it cut 14% (3,700 jobs).

How is Uber investing in self-driving cars?

Uber expects to commit $10 billion to bring autonomous vehicles to market at scale, with 120,000 cars committed by partners like Rivian, Baidu, and Pony.ai. The CEO wants Uber to be the “world’s leading commercialization platform for autonomous vehicles.”

Autonomous DrivingAI Business & IndustryFortune AISep 3, 2026Sep 4, 2026, 01:00 JST

Uber cuts 3,300 jobs, bets on robotaxis

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3 Key Points

What happened
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced on Wednesday that Uber will cut 3,300 jobs, about a tenth of its global workforce. This is the largest cut since Covid, when it cut 14% (3,700 jobs).
Why it matters
Khosrowshahi said the cuts are not due to economic downturn—Uber has “grown by orders of magnitude” in five years—but because Uber had become too big to manage. The reorganization aims to make the company run “faster and smarter,” and savings will be reinvested in growth and innovation, including autonomous vehicles.
What to watch
Uber expects to commit $10 billion to bring self-driving cars to market at scale, with 120,000 cars committed by partners like Rivian, Baidu, and Pony.ai. Khosrowshahi aims to make Uber the “world’s leading commercialization platform for autonomous vehicles.”

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Context & Analysis

The job cuts mark a significant shift in Uber’s strategy. After years of rapid expansion, the company is now prioritizing efficiency and future technologies. The decision reflects internal feedback that too much time was spent coordinating rather than building or serving customers. Uber’s journey with self-driving cars has been turbulent: it launched an autonomous vehicle unit in 2020, later sold the research unit, but then pivoted to deploying robotaxis through partners like Rivian, Baidu, and Pony.ai. Now, with a $10 billion commitment and 120,000 cars on order, Uber is betting big on becoming the leading platform for autonomous ride-hailing. The reorganization aims to simplify the org chart, combining delivery teams and reducing layers, to free up resources for these priorities.

FAQ

Why is Uber cutting jobs despite strong growth?: CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber had grown too large to manage efficiently. The cuts will help the company run “faster and smarter,” and savings will be reinvested in growth and innovation, including autonomous vehicles.
What are the details of the job cuts?: Uber is cutting 3,300 jobs, about a tenth of its workforce. This is the largest cut since Covid, when it cut 14% (3,700 jobs).
How is Uber investing in self-driving cars?: Uber expects to commit $10 billion to bring autonomous vehicles to market at scale, with 120,000 cars committed by partners like Rivian, Baidu, and Pony.ai. The CEO wants Uber to be the “world’s leading commercialization platform for autonomous vehicles.”

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